Finding strength after struggle

As much as Cathy Valdez, a 41-year-old single parent, wanted to own a new home, in the end it wasn't worth the stress and the high cost.

"Family and health - that's all that matters," Valdez said. "A lot of people have everything material, but they're lonely."

In 2008, with the Stockton housing market depressed, Valdez and a cousin put their money together to buy a home in Weston Ranch for $270,000. The same property had been sold for $600,000 just a few years earlier.

But even at less than half that peak price, the $2,000-a-month mortgage was challenging for Valdez. When the cousin moved out a few months later, it was impossible. "Oh wow, it was too much for me."

Valdez could not afford the home on her own.

"It was embarrassing," she said. "I was behind on my payments. I had to take out a loan on my 401(k) twice."

She worked with her lender to modify the loan, but after a few months buried in a blizzard of paperwork, the monthly amount dropped by just $30.

She was forced to walk away from her dream in February of last year.

Valdez, an Edison High School graduate, is a family nutritionist and spends her days working inside homes of Manteca-area Latino families. She is in her third year with a health-education program.

"A lot of people are struggling to make house payments," she said. "I heard about a lot of problems. I even heard about people killing themselves because their payments are so high."

Today, Valdez, who has two grown children, rents a Weston Ranch home not far from the home she lost.

Valdez shares the cost with two adult children who also live there; her portion is $850 a month. Another daughter, Susanna, completes the family. Susanna is a 17-year-old senior at Venture Academy who has a 4.17 grade point average.

Losing the purchase had another cost. She and a longtime boyfriend split up. And there has been an erosion in her pride.

"To me, owning a home was so important. I was so happy. It was my first. I was a first-time buyer," Valdez said. "But I am stronger because of what I've been through.

"It took awhile, but I'm starting to get used to where I am now. I've accepted it, and I've got to make the best of it. I see how hard it is now to own a home. It doesn't come easy. I know the value of money."